Phoenix has been making headlines for its decision to bring a vending
machine, aptly named, Super Mercato, on the band's world tour to sell
merchandise and promote their recently released album, Ti Amo.
The Super Mercato pop-up shop makes it easy for fans to pick up
merchandise using credit cards or mobile wallet payments like Apple or
Android Pay, a perfect solution for their (primarily post Millennial)
fan base.

"The idea to work with a vending machine was initially something that
came from the band directly. They wanted to create a fun experience for
fans and one that would echo the themes of their new album, Ti Amo.
Working closely with USA Technologies, our team customized the machine
down to the smallest detail, giving it a lot of character and aligning
it with the aesthetic and fantasy behind the band's new record," said
Matt Sadie, artist manager at United Management. "This is something that
fans have really reacted to, especially after including the machine in
social media videos and music videos. The machine really took on a life
of its own. On a commercial level, it also had practical advantages too,
giving us the ability to expand the range of goods beyond those sold at
the traditional merchandise table. We even had the machine resident at
Amoeba Records in Hollywood following the band's performance at the
Hollywood Bowl in June. Over the next year, the machine will travel with
the band around the world, taking up residency from time to time along
the way. We've seen a huge reaction with the press as well as from fans
online including filming their experience at the machine, to showing the
vast lines of people lining up to buy a souvenir. Financially, it has
been very consistent and a great addition to the merchandise revenue of
the band."

Traveling merchandise pop-ups make it possible for artists to increase
the number of items that they can sell at a venue, festival or fan
events and at a variety of price points. Using a vending machine makes
it super easy for fans to make a purchase - just select, swipe, dispense
and go.

"Phoenix is a pioneer in the world of fan merchandising. Unattended
merchandise machines unlock new opportunities for the band to connect
and market to its fans," said Amelia Powell, senior director of
Marketing and Strategic Partnerships, USA Technologies. "The band is
able to better understand what is selling most, what their payment
preference may be and how those items may be contributing to the bottom
line. By gaining access to merchandise data remotely, the band is able
to better plan for future shows and focus their attention on what
matters most, the music!"

USA Technologies caught up with the crew during their stop in
Philadelphia to talk about the "Super Mercato" machine and the idea
behind it. To learn more, watch the video.
To catch Super Mercato on tour, visit: http://wearephoenix.com/live/.

USA Technologies, Inc. is a premier payment technology service provider
of integrated cashless and mobile transactions in the self-service
retail market. The company also provides a broad line of cashless
acceptance technologies including its NFC-ready ePort® G-series, ePort
Mobile™ for customers on the go, ePort® Interactive, and QuickConnect,
an API Web service for developers. USA Technologies has 73 United States
and foreign patents in force; and has agreements with Verizon, Visa,
Chase Paymentech and customers such as Compass, AMI Entertainment and
others. For more information, please visit the website at www.usatech.com.